As computing environments become more and more mobile, the need to be able to locate devices and services becomes more important. For example, consider an individual with a laptop computer whose job requires them to travel to various geographically-separated company locations. Perhaps in the morning they attend a meeting in Boise, Id., and, in the afternoon have another meeting scheduled in Vancouver, Wash. Assume now that at each of the meeting locations, there are various computing devices or peripherals that would be convenient for the user to use and access using their laptop computer. For example, there may be printers, plotters, facsimile machines (electronic fax machines or services) and the like that are location specific and convenient for the user to use. There may also be electronic equipment in the meeting rooms that would be convenient to use.
While there may be a number of devices that are available for use in each of the locations, the user will be unable to use them if they cannot discover the devices. Accordingly, this invention arose out of concerns associated with providing methods and systems that facilitate local device discovery.